1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a breeding cage for use in breading small animals such as birds, squirrels and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A cage for use in breeding birds, squirrels and other small animals is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. Sho 51-54550. This cage comprises a cylindrical trunk portion of an open framework, a bottom mounted on one end of the trunk portion and an upper cover mounted on the other end of the trunk portion. In this breeding cage as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, vertical wires 22 are fixedly mounted on a plurality of horizontal members 21, which are arranged in parallel to form frames 23, 23. Respective end portions of the frames 23, 23 are connected with each other to form the cylindrical trunk portion 24. Specifically, vertical connecting wires 25, 25 adjacent to each other at the respective end portions of the frames 23, 23 are connected with each other through connecting members 26 made of synthetic resin. The connecting members 26 have a concave configuration. Respective supporting portions 27, 27 of the connecting members 26 are provided with supporting holes 28, 28 and V-shaped guide grooves 29, 29 communicating with the respective supporting holes 28, 28, as shown in FIG. 8. The connection of the adjacent vertical connecting wires 25, 25 with the connecting members 26 is achieved by inserting the respective vertical connecting wires 25, 15 into the supporting holes 28, 28 through the guide grooves 29, 29 which is facilitated by the ability of the supporting portions 27, 27 to slightly elastically deform.
In the above-described conventional breeding cage, the frames 23, 23 are connected to each other, with the connecting members 26, at the respective end portions thereof to form the cylindrical trunk portion 24. Accordingly, the cylindrical trunk portion 24 can be divided into a plurality of parts and thus transported, packed and otherwise handled easily. However, since the frames 23, 23 and the connecting members 26 are discrete members, various kinds of problems occur. For example, when the frame 23, 23 and other members required for assembling the breeding cage are collectedly packed, it is necessary to attach a required number of comparatively small connecting members 26 to the frames. It takes time to attach the connecting members 26, the wrong number of connecting members 26 are attached, or an assembler may forget to attach the connecting members in which case the breeding cage cannot be assembled. In addition, in the case where the assembled trunk portion 24 consists of two frames 23, 23, the frames 23, 23 are pivotably supported by the connecting members 26, respectively. The assembled trunk portion 24 is thus not quite cylindrical, whereby it becomes difficult to mount the bottom cover and the upper cover to the assembled trunk portion 24.